Jorge Lorenzo takes the flag in sixth place at Le Mans. Andrea Dovizioso forced to retire after crashing out on lap 5 while in the lead of the French GP (Industry Press Releases)

Jorge Lorenzo finished today’s French Grand Prix, round 5 of the world championship held at the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans, in sixth place. The Spanish rider, who got a great start from row 2 when the lights went off, led for the first nine laps, but then gradually lost ground to finish his race in sixth position.

It turned out to be an unfortunate race for Andrea Dovizioso, who had just passed his team-mate to move into the lead on lap 5. Unfortunately the Italian then made a mistake at the La Chapelle curve that sent him sliding out of the French GP.

After the fifth round of the championship, Dovizioso has now dropped to ninth place in the standings with 46 points while Lorenzo is in fourteenth position with 16 points.

The next MotoGP appointment will be the Michelin test on Tuesday 23rd May at the Montmeló circuit, while the fans are already gearing up for the Italian Grand Prix, to be held at Mugello from 1st to 3rd June.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 6th “Once again I got a great start, which allowed me to stay in the lead for nine laps, but unfortunately I was unable to keep the pace for all the distance. We still have a small problem making the bike more user-friendly, which makes it very tiring for me, and I’m unable to be consistent for many laps. Luckily in two days’ time we will be at Montmeló for a one-day test and we’ll try and find a solution, because I’m convinced that if we manage to resolve these final details we can fight for podiums and the wins. In any case we finished the race and, after my DNF in Jerez, this was also one of today’s objectives.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – DNF“I’m really gutted, this time it was only my mistake. I went a bit wide at Turn 6, I didn’t think I had any problems with the front turning in but it did. It’s a real pity because today I had good sensations and a chance of fighting for the win, I think quite easily, and it is an unacceptable error for someone like myself who wants to fight for the title. At this moment in time it’s hard to digest the mistake I made because I usually don’t make any, but unfortunately races are sometimes like that and now we have to look to the future. I want to say sorry to the team and the guys in Ducati Corse because we did an outstanding job this weekend, we came to the race in perfect condition and our bike was simply terrific.”